Bike Shifting in Perumbavoor

Perumbavoor is a working town. The plywood and timber trade sits at its centre, with mills, yards and units around the town and along the roads leading out. Many of the people who work there ride to the job, and their bikes stand all day in yards where saws, sanders and presses run. By evening, a bike parked near a mill has a coat of fine wood dust in every gap, and sometimes a sticky film from resin and adhesives carried on the air.

Most riders live with it. A wipe of the seat, a quick blow through the air filter now and then, and the bike keeps going. On moving day, though, the dust and the film matter more than usual.

Sawdust in the air filter is the first thing. A clogged filter starves the engine, which runs rough and uses more fuel. That's an inconvenience in daily use, but a bike that starts badly at the far end of a move, on a new road, is a problem. Fine wood dust also packs into the gap around the radiator on liquid cooled bikes, and into the cooling fins of air cooled engines, which can cause overheating on a long ride later.

The film on the paint is the second. Resin and glue particles settle as a tacky layer that collects more dust. Trapped under padding for hours on a warm truck, that film can leave marks on the paintwork.

And the dust itself gets everywhere. In the boot, around the switches, in the chain. On a truck, it shakes loose and lands on the household goods beside the bike.

So give the bike a thorough clean a couple of days ahead of collection.

Take out the air filter, if you know how, and tap or blow it clean. A paper filter that is badly clogged is cheap to replace, and a mechanic can do it in minutes. A foam filter can be washed and re-oiled.

Brush out the cooling fins or the radiator gently with a soft brush. Keep any high pressure jet away from the radiator, which bends its fins.

Wash the panels with warm soapy water to lift the resin film. For spots that resist, dab a little rubbing alcohol on a cloth, trying it somewhere unseen first.

Empty and brush out the boot, where sawdust settles into every corner, and wipe around the switches and the instrument panel.

Clean and lubricate the chain, which collects a paste of sawdust and oil. A stiff brush and a chain cleaner lift it in a few minutes, and a fresh coat of lube afterwards keeps the chain quiet on the next ride.

Wash your hands of resin before handling the grips, and then park the bike away from the yard the night before the move, so it isn't coated again by morning.

Perumbavoor collections are carried out by vetted partner movers from the area. They come knowing what our survey found about the bike; the written figure and the responsibility for the day remain ours.

Our Perumbavoor packers page covers unit shifts, small shared loads and the market lanes. This page is about the bike that comes home from the mill covered in dust.

Electric scooters have no air filter, but sawdust can block the motor's cooling vents and settle in the charging port. Brush both out gently before the move. While booking, let us know the maker and say whether the battery is removable.